E3 2007: MotoGP '07 Hands-on

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Tearing around the tracks with Capcom's first bike title.

By Charles Onyett

It's a little confusing how all the MotoGP licensing issues work, but as it stands Capcom has it PlayStation 2 through 2012, nabbing them from Namco, and THQ has the rights for the Xbox 360. We got a chance to go hands-on with Milestone's MotoGP '07 for PS2 at Capcom's E3 2007 booth, and it seemed like yet another title in the sim-like racing series featuring licensed real-life racers and bikes. In this version players can switch between Arcade, Normal, and Simulation modes, all of which affect the bikes' controls.

In Arcade, you only have to worry about one single brake button. Normal mode adds in having to lean your rider forward and back during acceleration and decelerating. In case you're not familiar, you lean forward during acceleration and back when slowing down. Then with Simulation mode the game adds in a rear and front brakes, drastically increasing the attention required for steering. Of course, if you're a hardcore bike racing fan, you'll probably want to use Simulation, but the casual gamer will likely try out the Arcade before ramping up the difficulty.

Once in the game, players can engage in single races, the full 18 race circuit, custom circuits, time attack mode, and a series of 100 challenges. The full circuit takes you around the world to all the real tracks. Each race takes place on the actual MotoGP tracks, and can be subject to different weather conditions like sunny, cloudy, or rainy. AI difficulty can also be adjusted to Rookie, Amateur, Pro, and Legend levels. Should you not want to start every race from the last starting position, you can also opt to enter a qualifying round to vie for the pole position.

If you'd rather create a championship, any number of tracks over six can be strung together in whatever order you choose. Should you get bored playing by yourself, there's an option for two-player split-screen, but nothing online. In time attack mode you can, as you might expect, compete against yourself for the fastest time, and there'll be ghost bikes in there to keep you aware of your previous performance.

After a race is completed, you get the opportunity to view the whole thing again in a replay mode. You'll get a chance to check out the nice-looking but somewhat barren tracks, as well as some decent bike models. Of course the track's decorative sparseness is more a result of the sport's necessity, and Milestone took steps to try and keep things diverse. Aside from the different track designs, you'll see green smoke floating up from banks of grandstands and there are always the lighting effects as the sun's rays jet out from breaks in the clouds.

For controls, L2 is a rear view, L1 gears down, R2 is rear brake, R1 gears up, triangle initiates reverse, circle uses a gesture, X button is accelerate, and square is front brake. The left analog stick moves your rider up and down, and the right analog can actually accelerate if pressed up, or serve as front brake when pushed back. Hitting select switches between four camera angles, two from behind the rider and two from a first-person view.

We played for a while, checking out some of the handling, but it's tough to say anything conclusive about the controls without a longer play session. We can say the game's moving along at a solid framerate, and looked pretty at times. Apparently all the individual bikes had their sounds recorded by Milestone and are implemented in the game. After you burn through championship mode a few times, there are still the challenges. They can be taken on at three difficulty levels, and involve meeting requirements like staying close to a line painted on the road or making it to the finish under a certain time. Capcom's first MotoGP game will be shipping this October.